Center attorney: ‘Zoning policies can have negative consequences for the economically vulnerable’

MIDLAND — Nathan Duszynski, the 13-year-old entrepreneur whose hot dog cart was shut down due to a zoning ordinance in Holland, Mich., is scheduled to be back in business at 11 a.m. Thursday.

Nathan plans to sell hot dogs on the sidewalk at the corner of River and 11th Street in downtown Holland, mere feet away from the private parking lot in front of Reliable Sports where he first set up last month.

“The city’s decision to provide Nathan with temporary permission to operate his business is a welcome first step,” said Patrick J. Wright, director of the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation. “But it’s only a first step. The city council realized that Holland’s zoning policies can have negative consequences for the economically vulnerable.”

Wright noted that in fairness, Holland is just one of myriad cities around the country with such regulations.

“This type of policy puts up barriers to economic opportunity,” Wright added. “The next step would be for city officials to review all of the city’s ordinances and remove those barriers.”